Lance Hedrick|06. Juni
A Delightfully Absurd Percolator: The Crowka Pot
A Delightfully Absurd Percolator: The Crowka Pot
- Lance Hedrick presents the Crowka Pot, a handcrafted stainless steel coffee maker shaped like a crow.
- Created by US inventor Adrian (mechanical engineer) after 20 iterations. Price: about $200 USD, lead time 4–8 months.
- Reason: Single-piece cast stainless steel, made in China, hand-assembled, packed, and shipped by one person in the US.
- Debate: Do moka pots produce 'real' espresso? Lance argues that before 1948, espresso was brewed at 1.5 bar steam pressure – similar to moka pots.
- Only since 1948 has the 9-bar definition with crema been standard. Historically, moka pots would be truer to original espresso.
- Bottom line: 'As long as you get what you want, it's all good.'
- Water in the lower chamber heats up, creating steam that pushes water up through a tube.
- Water passes through coffee grounds at just below 100°C, then flows through a second outlet into the crow-shaped reservoir.
- Seals and screens are easy to maintain; stainless steel allows cleaning with coffee cleaner (Cafiza).
- Uses paper filters (top and bottom) for a clean extraction.
- Preheats water to avoid scorching the coffee.
- Dose: 24–25g, grind size medium-coarse (no tamping, just leveling).
- Brew stop: Remove from heat as soon as liquid becomes visible – residual steam completes extraction.
- Result: 6–7/10 taste score (Lance prefers other methods), but solid and clean.
- Visual appeal: Coffee flows from the crow's beak – 'like a fountain'.
- Durability: Thick stainless steel, but not induction-ready (V2 planned).
- Cleaning: Entire unit can be soaked in Cafiza; internal parts (basket, tube) are removable.
- The Crowka Pot is a statement piece for design and craftsmanship lovers, not necessarily for better coffee quality.
- For best results: paper filter sandwich, coarse grind, early heat removal.
- Taste verdict: 'Solid 6/10, but with a touch of flyweight.'
